Police have an uneasy relationship with many lawyers. Ratso is no exception and he enjoyed this joke and he has plenty more that fly about over a couple of pints: What is black and brown and looks good on a lawyer? Answer: A rottweiler.

Douglas Stewart and Hard Place – guest blog Martin Edwards: “One of the great unsolved mysteries, or so it seems to me, is why there are so many crime writing attorneys in the US, and yet relatively few from Britain. Is it because we are worked much harder in the UK? Having talked to some […]

A police officer stops an elderly female for speeding while driving her husband near Liverpool docks. The officer approaches the ageing Toyota and politely explains that she was doing 41 mph in a 30mph area. She looks at her husband and asks, “What did he say?” Voice raised the husband replies, “He said you were […]

In Hard Place, Detective Inspector Todd “Ratso” Holtom is fighting to bring down a European drug baron rather than a crime boss in the USA. Even so, having the chance to launch Hard Place here in New York City seems very appropriate given its long history of violent Mob action. Besides therefore the chance to […]

A police officer sees a young woman driving in London with the rear-seat of her Jaguar full of seals honking noisily through the windows. He stops her and says: “You can’t drive with a car loaded with these things next to Buckingham Palace! Take them to Regents Park Zoo.” The blonde blows a kiss and […]

www.DouglasStewartBooks.com I was very fortunate to have a Q & A session with Humphrey Hawksley. Humphrey is a journalist and foreign correspondent for the BBC and a best-selling author of international political thrillers with emphasis on the Far East. Links for him appear below. Humphrey: Hard Place runs with the international drugs trade from Afghanistan […]

Now that Det.Inspector Todd “Ratso” Holtom has appeared in Hard Place, my latest mystery thriller just released, he is going to publish a police joke each week to celebrate. You can pick up Hard Place via my website or from Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble etc and currently there is a special offer on Amazon […]

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2nd in Series

Inspired by real events, Dead Fix is the second of the Det. Insp. Todd “Ratso” Holtom series, following on from Hard Place. Ratso investigates international sports match-fixing, a labour of love for this London detective. Billions are being staked on fixed results using a global black-market. Following a vicious attack on seeming innocents, he realises that he is up against more than bent players as he tackles the shady and murderous world of criminal gangs.

The trail points to a mastermind operating from Dubai and India. But are Ratso’s instincts failing him? Once again he is supported by colleagues, Jock Strang, Tosh Watson and Nancy Petrie. As the investigation twists and turns, fresh evidence points to the USA. Here, his svelte long-distance lover, Det. Kirsty-Ann Webber of the Ford Lauderdale Police Department yet again proves her worth as the scope and scale of the investigation race to a dramatic climax.